Bank of Ireland Offaly JHC Final
Ballyskenagh 3-16 ....... Carrig & Riverstown 1-0
Report by: Alan Walsh
BALLYSKENAGH
proved far too hot to handle for Carrig & Riverstown as they romped to their
third Offaly JHC title before a large crowd at Lusmagh on Sunday afternoon last.
In a disappointingly one-sided final, the winners could do absolutely no wrong
as they tore their opponents asunder at the seams and emerged victorious with
a whopping twenty four points to spare.
The Carrig & Riverstown players will have nightmares about this game for a long time to come. They just couldn't get any sort of momentum going and folded miserably on the day. Their chances of clinching victory were dealt a massive blow after only nine minutes when centre forward Billy Delahunt was given his marching orders. That was the beginning of their demise.
In spite of the fact that Carrig & Riverstown had very little to offer and provided only paltry opposition, Ballyskenagh deserve great credit for their performance. They were absolutely flying it and in terms of fitness, they were in peak fettle. Their striking was crisp and everything they did had a little bit of class written all over it and this is what distinguished them from the remainder of the bunch in this year's Bank of Ireland JHC.
A particularly young outfit, Ballyskenagh look to have a good future ahead of them in the intermediate ranks, and it would not be a major surprise if they managed to elevate themselves to the senior grade within the next three or four years.
Ripped to shreds
Aided by a slight breeze Ballyskenagh, who were inspired throughout by captain John Dooley, were 1-1 to nil in front by the 11th minute. A minute later Carrig & Riverstown registered what proved to be their only score of the game when James Hoctor's shot beat Tom O'Toole. At this stage it looked as though a tight contest was in prospect but it didn't turn out like that.
Ballyskenagh did more or less what they liked ripping the Carrig & Riverstown defence to absolute shreds and at the break they were leading by 3-7 to 1-0.
The bone of contention during the ten minutes interval was whether Carrig & Riverstown possessed the mettle to stage a comeback. With the advantage of the elements it seemed possible they could make a match of it, but with a man short, they might as well have being hitting their heads off stone walls, and Ballyskenagh added nine more points to their tally in the concluding half to become worthy champions.
Captain Fantastic
As previously mentioned, Ballyskenagh's John Dooley fitted the bill of 'Captain Fantastic' to a tee. He scored a very impressive 2-7 and any time he gained possession Carrig & Riverstown were in deep, deep trouble. He showed great agility to score a 'Damien Quigley-like' goal in the 7th minute and his free-taking was equally brilliant.
Padraig McLoughlin was another who tormented the Carrig & Riverstown defence. He gave Teddy Long a horrid time, slipping past him with great ease on a number of occasions to score five super points. The Murphy twins, Cathal and Noel were outstanding. Cathal was a pillar of strength in the heart of the Ballyskenagh defence, while Noel showed great versatility to drop back into midfield in place of Eugene Kirwan who picked up a nasty head injury early on.
Left half back Donal Franks also had a fine game. Eugene Hannon was given the role of sweeper in the Ballyskenagh defence following the dismissal of Delahunt and he excelled, picking up on any loose ball which fell in front of Tom O'Toole. Michael Ryan, his brother Ollie, and Bill Lalor were others to impress.
Family affair
Ballyskenagh full back Gerry Kirwan was probably the proudest person in Lusmagh at the final whistle. He had rushed from Banagher after guiding Seir Kieran to victory over Coolderry in the SHC playoff game to line-out with his native club. He had four sons in the 'skenagh squad; Eugene lined out at midfield, while, John, Ciaran and Mark were among the subs. In addition,his brother, Paddy, trained the team; so it was something of a real family affair.
For their part, Carrig & Riverstown will want to put this skittering defeat behind them and pick up the pieces for next year. Leonard Deane did nothing wrong between the posts and could do absolutely nothing about the three goals which past him. Willie and Paul Ryan tried hard in their fullback line, while Denis Hoctor also performed bravely. Carrig & Riverstown were always in trouble at midfield, while stars such as Liam O'Brien and dual All-Ireland SH medallist Martin Cashin failed to shine.
Both teams got off to a tentative enough start and the first score of the game didn't materialise until the 7th minute. Ballyskenagh midfielder Ollie Ryan pumped in a high delivery and John Dooley popped up in front of Willie Ryan to deftly flick the sliotar to the net. Two minutes later Carrig & Riverstown's Billy Delahunt was sent off. Ballyskenagh increased their lead in the 11th minute when Peter Murphy passed to Dooley who slotted over a neat point.
Instant Reply
Carrig & Riverstown's reply was instant. Ger Oakley parted to James Hoctor. Hoctor's shot was saved well by O'Toole but on the rebound he tucked the sliotar into the right hand corner of the net. Ballyskenagh, who started without ace attacker Donal Golden and lost the services of Eugene Kirwan at midfield through injury, knocked over two points in the 18th and 20th minutes respectively thanks to Padraig McLoughlin.
They followed these scores up with a brace of goals. McLoughlin flicked the sliotar out to Dooley and the captain evaded a number of tackles before crashing his shot to the roof of the net. Aidan Franks netted in the 22nd minute. McLoughlin again was provider as Franks got out in front of Paul Ryan and whipped a spectacular ground shot to the net.
Further points from McLoughlin, Dooley (2) and Noel Murphy gave Ballyskenagh an interval lead of 3-7 to 1-0.
The expected Carrig & Riverstown revival didn't come about and Ballyskenagh continued to dominate all over the field. 'Skenagh opened the second half scoring in the 36th minute. Donal Franks picked out Noel Murphy with a perfectly weighted free and Murphy sent the sent the sliotar between the sticks. Their next two attacks almost reaped goals but the McLoughlin brothers Philip and Padraig had shots which hit the crossbar and went inches wide, respectively.
Icing on Cake
Points from John Dooley (2 frees) and Bill Lalor (2) gave 'Skenagh a 3-12 to 1-0 advantage by the 50th minute and they put the icing on the cake with points from Dooley (2) and Padraig McLoughlin.
Scorers: Ballyskenagh John Dooley (2-7, 0-4 frees, 0-1 '65), Padraig McLoughlin (0-5), Aidan Franks (1-0), Bill Lalor and Noel Murphy (0-2 each).
Carrig & Riverstown James Hoctor (1-0).
BALLYSKENAGH:Tom O'Toole; Eugene Hannon, Gerry Kirwan, Michael Ryan; Liam O'Toole,
Cathal Murphy, Donal Franks; Eugene Kirwan, Ollie Ryan; Bill Lalor, Noel Murphy, Peter Murphy; Aidan Franks, John Dooley (capt.), Padraig McLoughlin.
Subs.: Philip McLoughlin for Eugene Kirwan, inj., (9 mins), Ger Mullally for Bill Lalor, inj., (52 mins), and Donie Wade for Tom O'Toole, (57 mins).
CARRIG & RIVERSTOWN: Leonard Deane; Teddy Long, Willie Ryan, Paul Ryan; Kevin
Carey, Denis Hoctor, Michael Hoctor; John Oakley, Pat Hoctor (capt.); Ger Oakley, Billy Delahunt, Liam O'Brien; Martin Cashin, James Hoctor , Edmund Brady.
Subs.: Tadhg Carey for Teddy Long, (44 mins), and John King for Micha<,' Hoctor, (49 mins).
REFEREE: Pat Horan, St. Rynagh's.
